BONHAM-CARTER THANKS BRAD PITT

Helena Bonham Carter reckons she owes Brad Pitt for the most interesting part of her career.

The actress was hailed "the corset queen" after starring in a number of successful period dramas, A Room With A View, Lady Jane and Howards End. Then in 1998 she was nominated for an Oscar for The Wings Of The Dove and the chance to prove her diversity showed itself.

"There's a crazy window, in between when you get nominated and the Oscars ceremony, when you get offered everything under the sun, however unsuitable," she said. One such offer was Fight Club - and it was Brad Pitt who suggested she play the dissolute Marla Singer.

"I guess Fight Club was the most unsuitable part and I thought, 'Good on you Brad' and decided to go for it," she said. "I loved the humour and I loved the part. I like anyone who's dysfunctional. I'm always attracted to people who are sick or mentally different.